A surgical, or even percutaneous, tracheostomy is another option for FONA. This usually takes a little longer and requires greater skill and experience. In a CICO emergency, a scalpel-bougie cricothyroidotomy is almost certainly the fastest and safest way to rescue the airway and provide emergency oxygenation. This is the case even if you are an airway surgeon.
Question: When do you think a tracheostomy may be indicated?
A surgical, or even percutaneous, tracheostomy is another option for FONA. This usually takes a little longer and requires greater skill and experience. In a CICO emergency, a scalpel-bougie cricothyroidotomy is almost certainly the fastest and safest way to rescue the airway and provide emergency oxygenation. This is the case even if you are an airway surgeon.
Question: When do you think a tracheostomy may be indicated?
Answer: Sometimes a tracheostomy is indicated:
- Following a failed cricothyroidotomy
- Following successful cricothyroidotomy to provide a more definitive airway
- In a stable situation where oxygenation is occurring but intubation is difficult or impossible